Sydney, Melbourne housing markets get even stronger

A new report from CoreLogic RP Data has revealed that the two largest housing markets in Australia are growing even bigger than expected.

Sydney’s median house values officially reached $900,000 last month after soaring 17.8% over the year. The month of May saw a growth rate of 16.4% for Sydney.

Meanwhile, the city’s median unit price jumped 9.5% to $650,000 after having an increase of 8.8% the month before.

The second-hottest housing market in the country, Melbourne, recorded a median house price of $615,000. The city also saw a growth from 9.8% to 11.2%.

Melbourne’s median unit price is now $480,000, although growth slipped from 2.9% to 2.4%.

Head of research Tim Lawless said the interest rate cuts for February and May by the Reserve Bank of Australia have driven “the accelerated capital gains, after price growth moderated between April 2014 and January 2015”.

“With the RBA cutting the cash rate in February, there was an instant buyer reaction across the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets where auction clearance rates surged back to levels not seen since 2009,” Lawless was quoted as saying.

Adelaide replaced Brisbane on the third spot, with its median house price increasing 4.7% to $430,000. Its median unit price went up 2.0% to $337,000.

Meanwhile, despite being dethroned by Adelaide, Brisbane house prices climbed 3.7% to $488,000, and unit prices soared 0.7% to $382,000.

But it was only Hobart which was able to post increases in both sectors, with houses up 0.8% to $348,000 and units up 1.2% to $265,000.

Darwin’s median house price suffered a fall of 4.8% to $585,000. Its median unit price saw a 4.9% jump to $464,000.

Canberra had its house prices growing 3.0% to $590,000 but its unit prices declining 4.7% to $420,000.

The most dismal result was with Perth, where both sectors moved backwards. Houses fell 0.6% to $525,000 and units were down 4.0% to $425,000.

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